


it's almost halloween (do the trick or treat)

by sofarsoperfect



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fraternity, Casual Drinking Mention, Good Wholesome Fun For The Whole Family, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, M/M, casual sex mention, lapslock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:54:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26963254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sofarsoperfect/pseuds/sofarsoperfect
Summary: “so you guys do this… every year?” sungchan asks hesitantly, eying the boxes and the way an unseemly amount of decorations spill out of them.“it’s tradition,” guanheng answers for the older members. “nu chi tau don’t have a lot of traditions but this is one of them. just sucks that we’re losing yuta and johnny, they’ve always been the best at planning it.”johnny grins at them from the table, holding half a skeleton from the neck. renjun snorts when he glances up and then back to his books.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 8
Kudos: 92





	it's almost halloween (do the trick or treat)

**Author's Note:**

> this is p much just silliness but i got this idea while i was working at my place of gainful employment, so you're welcome
> 
> *un-beta'd

the door flies open at the nu chi tau house and not a single head lifts except for sungchan and jisung. boxes land on the floor, the coffee table, next to guanheng and renjun on the couch. renjun snatches his hoodie off the cushion just before the box makes landing and instead tosses it on the back of the couch, guanheng dodging the fabric as renjun throws it. there’s no stopping what’s about to happen even if midterms are in two weeks. 

NXT, for all it’s eccentricities, has always had one thing going for it. a long standing tradition of being the best decorated fraternity no matter the holiday no matter what. thanksgiving falls into a political no man’s land what with them having a couple of canadians in the house and then there’s the actual origins of thanksgiving, which doyoung does not and will not consent to. but all other holidays, halloween especially, with the way it breeds drunken debauchery that only university students can truly manage, is the perfect holiday for them to flex their decorating prowess. 

second only to christmas but just because christmas has a decorating plethora that no other holiday can truly match.

“it’s halloween!” johnny cheers as he opens the box on the dining table. 

“it’s the… second of october,” doyoung comments idly from the far end of the dining table. still no one knows why a fraternity needs a dining table but it remains in the main room, at which doyoung and kun usually sit and drink tea and try to finish their assignments. 

“it’s close enough!” yuta addes, pointing a finger at the rather unimpressed music business major. “besides if we don’t start decorating now we won’t be done in time for halloween.” 

“how much money did you blow on halloween decorations this year?” doyoung asks while jaehyun opens the last box, orange and purple string lights pouring out of it. they don’t actually have the time or energy to be putting them up on the house, they’re reserved to be put in the windows (they have more time to be putting up the christmas lights, which usually hit the outside of the house the day after thanksgiving, american) but that’s why they have their massive blow up cat and detailed graveyard that does go in the meager front lawn they do have. 

“... we don’t have to talk about it,” johnny mumbles in reply, tugging never ending cobwebs from the box in front of him. 

“not talk about it or just not tell kun?” doyoung retorts. 

“you’re the treasurer,” yuta points out. he has the biggest box, it’s long and wide and the minute he opens it it’s apparent as to why. it’s full of plastic tombstones, some of them thickers than the others, different shapes and sizes all stacked up inside the box and he lays them out in rows in what space they do have in the living room. they don’t really have much of a front lawn, especially considering how small their house is in comparison to some of the bigger ones but it’s never stopped them before. 

“so you guys do this… every year?” sungchan asks hesitantly, eying the boxes and the way an unseemly amount of decorations spill out of them. 

“it’s tradition,” guanheng answers for the older members. “nu chi tau don’t have a lot of traditions but this is one of them. just sucks that we’re losing yuta and johnny, they’ve always been the best at planning it.” 

johnny grins at them from the table, holding half a skeleton from the neck. renjun snorts when he glances up and then back to his books. 

“can’t believe you guys are doing this when midterms are in two weeks,” renjun comments from where he’s sitting half on top of guanheng, legs thrown over his lap while guanheng balances his notebook and psych book on renjun’s calves. “don’t you have studying to do?” 

“all we have to do is be ready for our thesis check ins,” yuta points out. a particular decrepit tombstone lands on the floor, jisung tilting his head dramatically to the side to try and read it from his position in the recliner. “we have time. keep studying,” he says, making renjun roll his eyes. 

“anyway, it’s gonna take at least two weekends before we’re even done,” johnny points out. “halloween’s gonna be a big deal this year!” he reminds them. guanheng grins while sungchan tilts his head. “it’s on a saturday! everyone’s gonna be out and we don’t even have to throw the party. DTD drew the short straw at the last frat officers meeting.” 

“oh, fuck yeah!” jaehyun laughs. he looks over from where he’s wrapping the curtain rods with purple and orange lights, grin so big his dimples are on full display. “no one in that house can play beer pong for their lives, i’m gonna demolish all of them.” 

“you can’t even beat me at beer pong!” doyoung shouts from the other side of the room.

“halloween’s on a saturday?” renjun asks. johnny nods, still grinning. “fuck. i have to work.” 

“what?!” 

“no!” 

“what about our costume?!” guanheng whines and renjun turns to him with a frown. the entire room freezes what they were doing and slowly turns to look at them. renjun glances around when he feels all eyes on them. 

“you and guanheng planned a couple’s costume?” yuta asks. his face says it all, the implication that definitely has no business being there. 

“no!” renjun tells him, and the room as a whole. “dejun is doing it with us.” purposefully doesn’t let his gaze glance to johnny. “it was guanheng’s idea. he and dejun are waluigi and wario and i’m going as rosalina.” 

“that’s a very odd combination of characters,” doyoung says, removing his hands from his laptop. “that doesn’t even make sense. rosalina doesn’t have a male counterpart and even if she did, it wouldn’t be them.” 

“if you were going as a three person costume renjun should be baby bowser, or like, kamek or something.” 

“is that a short joke?” renjun snaps, narrowing his eyes at yuta. 

“no!” 

“i’m not going as wario!” dejun shouts. they’ve left the basement door propped open, as they usually do. his voice floats up from the lower floor, guanheng rolling his eyes. 

“you have until a week before halloween to find a better costume or you’re going as wario!” guanheng shouts back. he looks back to renjun. “you have to come, we planned this whole thing, we’re gonna look stupid if you don’t go.” 

“arguably, you’re going to look stupid anyway,” jaehyun points out. 

“i can’t miss work! it’s a holiday, we’re gonna be busy as hell and the store’s gonna get torn the fuck up,” renjun points out. guanheng has a truly heart wrenching pout going on and renjun reaches out to push some of his bangs from his eyes. “i’m sorry, hen, you know i’d rather get drunk and disorderly with you guys than have to go to work.” 

“well hopefully the store let’s you out a big early and you can still get some drinking in before the night is over,” doyoung suggests. renjun shrugs his shoulders but doesn’t look optimistic. 

**october 31st: halloween**

renjun straightens his stack of patterned t-shirts and sighs. it’s eight in the evening and most of the parties will be starting soon, if they haven’t already. the time of the year means it’s well past dark already and he picks up another rumple shirt, shaking it out before folding it into a perfect trifold. it sits neatly on top of the stack as he reaches out to line all the stickers up perfectly. 

“hey,” someone says and renjun turns to his right, snorting as his friends walk up to him. 

johnny and kun are clearly on a last minute pre-game run, both of them carrying packs of beer. johnny’s already mostly dressed, striped shirt, black jeans, boots but his hat dangles from his fingertips and he’s not got his makeup on, not glove either. kun is already all done up in his suit, black eye circles and platinum hair brushed out. renjun can’t help himself. 

“hey, freddy. jack,” he nods to kun, who immediately frowns while johnny snorts. 

“beetlejuice,” he says, gesturing to himself. “uncultured,” he accuses.

“i wouldn’t be me if i didn’t make the joke. last minute?” renjun asks, looking at their selection of beers. they’re cheap but as long as it gets you drunk it doesn’t really matter. 

“yeah,” johnny admits. “please tell me you’re gonna get down to the DTD house tonight and not as a target employee,” he begs. renjun glances at his outfit. 

it’s a longshot, he has to close, they close at ten and they have to stay until at least an hour after close to clean up, which is going to be hell. the style section, where renjun usually works, isn’t too bad but he doesn’t even want to think about what grocery or the seasonal section might look like. he’d like to be able to get down and have a least a few drinks but getting into his costume sounds like a far fetched idea, no matter how much he wants to. 

“don’t hold your breath,” he says and watches as they both deflate. “it’s fine. maybe i’ll grab a beer and watch rocky horror picture show instead. not a terrible halloween,” he suggests. johnny’s eyes light up at the mention of rocky horror while kun merely lifts a brow. 

“save me a seat,” johnny tells him. “did you get the 45th anniversary edition?” renjun nods and johnny’s grin is straight up blinding. “oh hell yeah.” he glances at kun, who doesn’t look nearly as impressed. “c’mon kun, it’s a classic,” he says, elbowing their fraternity vice president in the side.

“not a musical guy,” kun brushes off. 

“and i’m uncultured,” renjun quips. kun narrows his eyes playfully. “is it just you guys or are there a few other brothers running around?” he asks, resting an elbow on the shelf next to him. 

he could keep straightening and folding but he’s already spending halloween at work. the least he can have is a few minutes talking to his brothers before they go out and have the fun he’s not going to be. 

“jaehyun’s still in wine and beer but it’s just us. yuta’s at the nearest liquor store getting the vodka,” kun explains. “jaehyun’s a rather underwhelming version of teen wolf this halloween,” kun sighs while johnny shakes his head, disappointed. 

“so he’s tyler posey,” renjun supplies. 

“essentially,” johnny agrees. “doyoung’s being a good friend and going as allison so he doesn’t look totally stupid. looks pretty hot holding a bow, though,” johnny says. kun rolls his eyes while renjun narrows his eyes. “i’m just being honest.” 

“go get drunk,” renjun tells them, turning back to his shirts. “i have graphic tees to fold.” 

“hey, if you get the time, DTD,” kun reminds him. “worst case you can find us in gamma zeta’s basement.” 

“that’s just a win, isn’t it?” renjun retorts, winking at them. 

“yeah,” kun admits with a grin. “have a good close.” 

“see you later, injunnie,” johnny tells him. 

renjun bids them both goodbye and goes back to his folding. there are still so many tables left to go. 

“hey, freddy, you looking for someone?” ten asks, resting his arms on johnny’s shoulder. johnny starts a little bit, focusing on his friend. 

ten is nothing if not an advocate for the idea of halloween being the sluttiest night of the year, the one night of the year where people can dress like total whores and no one can say anything about it, if you will. he’s in a cat costume but it’s not much of a cat costume so much as a pair of ears, tail and painted on whiskers with the tightest pair of black pants and highest, midriff baring top in his closet. he looks hot, this is undeniable, but it’s not much of a costume in johnny’s opinion. 

“i just thought… i dunno, i was hoping renjun would show up.” ten, oh so carefully and slowly lifts a brow. “he’s working tonight and that fucking sucks so even if he isn’t wearing his full costume i think it would be nice that he come out and at least have a drink. or something.” 

“awh,” ten coos, patting johnny’s cheek. normally he would pinch his cheek but he didn’t spend half an hour making johnny’s handsome features look burned and scarred to hell to ruin it himself. “you’re so sweet.” 

“get away from me,” johnny whines. “we’re you planning on climbing tyler posey tonight.” 

“scott mccall,” ten reminds him mildly. “and he’s been hanging with his allison argent all night so whatever. maybe i’ll sleep with sangyeon or something. he’s hercules, and he’s been working out,” ten tells him. johnny snorts. 

“that’s gross, get away from me.” 

“stop waiting around for your rosalina and have some fun,” ten insists, tugging a bit on johnny’s collar. “guanheng and dejun are.” 

guanheng and dejun did, infact, show up as waluigi and wario. the catch, that they didn’t tell anyone, was that they had put a street fashion twist on their costumes. guanheng is wearing a hoodie and dejun’s got a backwards snapback on that’s sporting the wario w on the front of it. guanheng is weirdly proud of his suspenders anyway, which is so strange.

ten leaves his side not long later, probably to get another drink or actually hook up with hercules, johnny’s not sure. he lost kun and yuta a while ago and jaehyun and doyoung must be somewhere in the crowd. 

for it being johnny’s last halloween on campus he certainly isn’t feeling it and he wonders if he should just call it. mark and xuxi would make fun of him for sure but he’s only had a couple of drinks and they’re just not hitting right. besides, he’s not really seen anyone he really wants to hang out with anyway. it’s almost midnight, maybe he’ll just go home and actually get some sleep for once. 

he makes it to the kitchen to throw his plastic cup away when he spots something out of the corner of his eye. he’s not sure what it is but when he turns entirely he freezes on the spot, heart stopping in his chest. 

renjun made it.

he’s dressed in his costume, something johnny wasn’t expecting. if he was going to show up, johnny thought he might actually show up as a target employee, too tired to actually get ready. but he’s dressed cutely, turquoise skater dress with silver heels, an iridescent, translucent bomber jacket around him and a darling little crown on his head, silver hair falling over his right eye. his star shaped accessories imply who he is and when he steps into the kitchen johnny blinks a couple of times in rapid succession to get his brain to start working again. 

“i didn’t think you’d come,” johnny says, meeting him at the door. renjun grins up at him, shifting his weight to rest his hand on his hips. “you look great,” johnny stumbles. 

“well, thanks,” renjun says. “i was hoping i still had some time to get a drink. maybe a dance?” he offers and johnny nods, smile going a little shy around the edges. 

“i think so.” 

“renjun!” 

descending upon them is what looks like the entirely mario party cast. suddenly donghyuck and jaemin’s matching skater dresses make sense next to renjun while jeno and shotaro are also wearing snapbacks and suspenders, this time in red and green. 

johnny can see a losing battle as it’s presented to him so he makes his escape, renjun giving him an apologetic look while dejun wraps him up in a hug, his cheeks a bright enough pink to match the makeup on his nose.

johnny heads back home around 1 in the morning, slipping out the DTD door, not seeing many of his brothers at all. the house is swamped with people, crowded and hot and he’s still a little tipsy. the air is brisk and cool as he walks down the street. thankfully greek row is tightly compacted on these streets and he can hear music, the monster mash in particular, blaring from the college bars across the road. 

he makes it about a block before he hears someone calling for him. 

“johnny!” 

when he turns he practically catches the person running after him. without him they might’ve fallen right on their face and his hands grab their waist while their hands land on his chest. when he looks down he recognizes the head of silver hair, renjun lifting his head and brushing his hair away from his face with a sigh. 

“damn heels,” he breathes. johnny chuckles as renjun straightens himself. he even pulls his heels off, leaving him in just his adorably frilly socks in the middle of the street. 

college students mill around them as they stand there. renjun’s shiny silver heels hang from his fingertips and johnny offers his arm, renjun sliding his arm through his. he nods to the sidewalk in front of them and they fall into step together on their way back to the house. 

“bit early for you to be heading back, isn’t it?” johnny asks conversationally. 

“we were going to watch rocky horror together, weren’t we?” renjun asks. he suddenly looks nervous. “i mean… if you want…” 

“yeah,” johnny agrees immediately. “i haven’t actually watched it in a while so if i, like, get really hype to the time warp, don’t judge me.” renjun laughs softly, resting his head on johnny’s shoulder as they walk back to the house. 

“everyone gets hype to the time warp,” he replies softly. 

when they return to the house it’s quiet. most of their brothers are still out having fun and the few that might be home are probably conked out in bed. johnny leaves renjun to wash up and change while renjun does the same, setting up the movie on his laptop in his room in the basement. when johnny creeps down to the basement renjun is cuddled up in his bed with his laptop already playing the title screen music. 

renjun as rosalina was startlingly beautiful but renjun as renjun is better. he’s in a pair of joggers and an oversized hoodie that might actually be mark or guanheng’s and his skin is fresh and clean. he’s settled in a nest of blankets that johnny carefully tries to navigate without destroying and finds himself cuddled right up against renjun’s back. 

“you good?” renjun asks. 

the room is dark, lit only by the title screen on renjun’s laptop, a quiet blessing when johnny’s cheeks flame up just from renjun leaning back against his chest before pressing play on the movie. 

rocky horror picture show never disappoints. johnny whispers the words to the songs under his breath with renjun and they giggle through the sex scenes together. everything from the title to the music to the actual acting in rocky horror is meant to be stupid and over the top. that’s why it’s good. johnny curls a little closer to renjun, arms wrapping around his middle as the movie goes along. 

johnny falls asleep in renjun’s bed that night, renjun’s laptop shoved to the end of the bed and renjun’s head resting on johnny’s chest. 

“did... did johnny make it home last night?” doyoung asks as he trudges down the stairs. taeyong is already brewing the second pot of coffee of the morning while sicheng lounges across the entirety of the couch. the underclassmen are nowhere to be found and jungwoo is lying half top of jaehyun on the floor of the living room. 

“he didn’t text the chat,” kun mumbles, face on the dining table. “but i haven’t seen him.” 

“i’m here,” johnny announces coming up from the basement. yuta sits up from the recliner immediately, only to clutch his head in pain while doyoung’s brow shoot to his hairline. “i slept in renjun’s room last night.”

“you-” 

“don’t,” johnny warns, meeting taeyong in the dining room to retrieve his coffee, “even think about it.”

**Author's Note:**

> [twt](https://twitter.com/sofarsoperfect)   
>  [cc](https://curiouscat.me/sofarsoperfect)


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